Learning to Question
Guilford College Associate Professor of Political Science and East Asian Studies George Guo has a great deal of international academic experience, including study and work in Japan, in Germany, in three areas of China (south, west and north), as well as in Florida, Virginia and North Carolina in the US.
“In most other countries, students are expected to sit quietly, to listen and to learn. If those students then go on to a large American college or university, they can feel lost, adrift, academically as well as socially. Not at Guilford.”
He explains further, “At larger schools, students in America are allowed to ask questions, but there is very little true interaction between them and their professors. There simply are too many students in each class to allow for it. At Guilford, all students are engaged in all classes, right from the beginning.”
He adds, “Here, they have many opportunities to develop intellectually. They can question their professors and classmates, challenging any of the ideas presented in class, and blossom as scholars, using the strong foundation they received in their home country.”
Best of all, he says, the students at Guilford do that with a strong sense of support from everyone around them: “They are so supported here, they feel comfortable in the classroom and outside of it as well.”
“Guilford is an ideal place for international students,” he says, “because it truly offers a comprehensive education. Students here grow psychologically as well as intellectually, and, the college does provide better services in transition than most other schools.”
History Professor Zhihong Chen earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Oregon, and she also taught there before joining the Guilford faculty. What does she enjoy most about teaching at Guilford? “We have many students who are quite open-minded, who are receptive to diverse opinions. That might be due in some part to the Quaker context, respecting diversity.”
She adds, “They are more into the process of learning, they’re less aggressive about grades — they care about them, but it doesn’t seem to be the single purpose. Many of the students at Guilford have genuine interest in learning and in knowledge itself.”
